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Baked Purple Sweet Potato Spiral Fritters

Baked Purple Sweet Potato Spiral Fritters without any added oils, gluten, or dairy. Enjoy them as breakfast, snack, party favors, or the main meal.

I’m a bit of a blank slate today, friends.

I wanted to start off by talking about the weather, and how unusually warm it’s been here in Virginia, but that seemed like such a small talk thing to do, and I don’t really do small talk.

If you’ve been visiting Flora & Vino for a while now , we’re definitely more than just acquaintances.

How about some big talk, instead?

Big like Baked Purple Sweet Potato Spiral Fritters, big.

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Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers

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Oil-free sweet potato rounds baked and smashed with herbed pea pesto. The perfect healthy appetizer for game-day or any-day!

Hi, guys!

Are you football fans?

I can’t say that I am, but you know what I am a fan of?

Easy and healthy game-time snacks.

Dan would tell you that I’m a Patriots fan by marriage (don’t hate!), but I spend the majority of the game asking what just happened.

And smashing all of the veggies together to make an oil-free, gluten-free option to enjoy between (and during) plays.

These Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers are a total “game-changer” (sorry, I had to), when it comes to feeding you and your football fans this fall!

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Baked Oil-Free Almond Flour Falafel

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Healthy oil-free, gluten-free baked falafel with a fresh cucumber tahini tzatziki! Enjoy this baked falafel in a lunch wrap, in a bowl, or on its own.

What do you think of falafel?

My first introduction to this typically deep-fried chickpea patty came from a Middle Eastern Eatery down the street from my house in high school.

I used to call ahead and order the “Hummus Falafel Rolled” and pick it up in my parents’ blue Honda Civic. I was practically drooling when I unwrapped it on the way home to reveal the golden brown pita stuffed hummus, greens, veg, and the crispiest brown falafel patties.

Too tempting to wait.

And it was messy, because the best foods are. I’m talking major hummus and falafel landslide messy.

Probably not the best thing to eat in your parents’ car when you’re 16.

Sorry, mom and dad.

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Oil-Free Purple Sweet Potato Fries with Beet Ketchup

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Crispy oil-free baked purple sweet potato fries paired with sweet beet ketchup. Slice, bake, and season, then dip in naturally sweetened beet ketchup.

It’s Friday and I think we all deserve some fries dipped in ketchup.

I remember back when I considered fries a junk food, something I ordered from the fast food drive-through window with equal anticipation and regret.

How about a plant-based pairing that makes you feel as fantastic after you them as it does while you’re eating them?

In my house, fries and dip is considered health food.

You really can’t argue with that logic when you’re stuffing your face with Oil-Free Purple Sweet Potato Fries dipped in Beet Ketchup.

Plants on plants for the win.

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Spring Lemon-y Leek Soup

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

1-pot soup packed with spring vegetables and leeks. Perfect to cozy up to when the weather turns brisk on spring evenings.

You guys, I can’t believe it’s May.

When did that happen?

The weather is warmer here, but sometimes the evenings still have a bit of nip to them.

I always attend spring evening events optimistically jacket-less, only to find myself shivering once the sun has gone down.

This Spring Lemony Leek Soup is perfect for such evenings when you want a little bit of comfort and warmth (or a jacket) until the sun comes up again.

Leeks and I had tempestuous beginnings that grew into an unshakeable love.

I can’t say I ever liked leeks.

This is probably because I never liked onions, but that’s a story for another post.

My parents used to serve a Potato Leek Soup for family lunches on the weekend.

I remember picking out all of the leeks, swirling my spoon around the bowl to avoid the ribbed white rings, collecting pockets of broth and potatoes instead.

At some point, I decided that hey, leeks aren’t so bad, and then I decided to make an entire pot of soup that featured them.

Crisp spring vegetables pair with soothing thyme and bright lemon to create a perfectly light and fresh flavor.

Prepping a pot of this Spring Lemony Leek Soup for the week is so easy and somehow it tastes even better day after day as the flavors meld together.

It’s magic!

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Strawberry Quinoa Salad with Zesty Lime Tahini

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Fresh and light 1-bowl quinoa salad celebrating strawberry season and spring vegetables with a zippy oil-free lime tahini dressing.

Did I ever tell you about that time I went strawberry picking?

I showed up at the farm with my sunhat and gardening gloves, ready for the romance of picking beautiful red fruit from the ground while seated daintily in the shade.

Well, let me tell you, strawberry picking is not that picturesque.

I stood hunched over under the beating sun, squinting through the shrubbery for flashes of red berry, sweat collecting in the rim of my sunhat, my basket of berries only a quarter full.

Every berry into the bucket was a success, and every berry chucked onto the ground…was probably overripe and buggy.

But friends, the good ones were SO GOOD.

It’s strawberry season again and I know just what to do with them.

Something like…toasted quinoa tossed with sweet strawberries, peppery radishes, crunchy snap peas, tender peas, and fresh herbs, tied together with a bright lime tahini dressing.

These days I mostly purchase my strawberries from the store, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to work for my berries.

This Strawberry Herb Quinoa Salad, however, hardly requires much work at all; just 1-bowl and less than 30 minutes.

That way you can spend more time outside, enjoying the warmer weather, or, picking more berries.

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Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts & Chickpeas Bake

By Flora & Vino 11 Comments

Easy 1-pan meal with chickpeas, brussels sprouts, and red onion in an easy maple balsamic sauce. Enjoy as sweet side or hearty main meal.

Hi, everyone!

I’m here to share another 1-pan meal with you that is delicious as it is pretty.

It has all of the sweetness and romance you need this Valentine’s Day.

You and your 1-pan.

If you’re not a fan of brussels sprouts, I can promise you that you’ll be one by the end of this recipe.

So go warm a skillet and let’s make Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts & Chickpeas Bake.

At an early age my parents pegged me as the “healthy eater” of the family, telling people about how I used to eat plain yogurt as a baby and salads without dressing.

It’s true; there weren’t many things that I didn’t like, and I was always good about finishing my vegetables.

And everyone else’s.

When my parents heated up a bag of Bird’s Eye frozen mixed vegetables with dinner I filled my plate half, leaving my sister and parents fighting for peas and carrots and corn.

So it doesn’t surprise anyone that I’m veg-obsessed now.

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Tri-Spiced Yam Fries & Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Oil-free yam fries perfectly seasoned and served with oil-free roasted red pepper hummus. Ready in 30 minutes for an easy snack or healthy side!

In high school, I attended our school football games solely for the food.

OK, for my friends, too.

There was track at my high school that ran around the football field, and my friends and I walked it in lingering laps, gossiping and scanning the stands, really hoping we might see that cute boy from 5th period.

We passed the marching band, the cheerleaders, and the stands, over and over, never actually watching the game.

(Who watches football at a football game?)

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Lentil Walnut Beet Balls with Spicy Tahini Dressing

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

Lentil Walnut Beet Balls that are vegan, gluten free, and no-oil-added. Serve as an appetizer with oil-free tahini dressing!

Whenever we go out, there’s always something I can eat.

It might not be the most appealing thing in the world, and more often than not it will be plain greens, raw veggies, or fries, but it’s something I can munch on to be social while I’m daydreaming about the giant glow bowl waiting on me for when I get home.

This year, I learned that cocktail parties can be some of the most inhospitable places for those who like to graze on whole foods and plants.

Dan and I attended a lovely holiday party this year, and aside from the fact that I had worn heels for the first time in months and it was standing room only (lots of shifting from left to right) we were standing around tiered tables of appetizers; none of which I could eat.

Let me just say that I’m not the type of person who expects their dietary choices to be catered to by the masses.

I’m the girl who shows up to a party with raw bars in my immediate bag and my purple lunchbox packed in the car.

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Chunky Chickpea Noodle Soup

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

1-pot chickpea noodle soup in 30 minutes! A healthy take on the classic packed with veggies to keep you well.

I used to love getting sick as kid, because it meant I could eat all the Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup I wanted, washed down with Fruit Punch Gatorade that turned my tongue and lips redder than my stuffy nose.

Fighting my first cold as a vegan, I definitely daydreamed about those sodium laced red and white Campbells soup cans.

There is something so healing and restorative about broth.

Everyone around me seems to be coming down with something lately, so I figured I’d head off any potential bugs by making a vegan version of this classic.

So, just in case I catch the sniffles, I’ll be adequately prepared, you know?

This Chunky Chickpea Noodle Soup has all of the same flavors I loved about being sick as a kid, with some significant healthy upgrades, like a lower sodium content, three times the chunky veg (including the unexpectedly amazing addition of brussels sprouts), and protein to boot.

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